1 year in, did the Silverlakes sports park in Norco live up to the hype?

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U.S. players and a Canadian team compete in front of college coaches during the First Annual Silverlakes College Showcase at Silverlakes Equestrian and Sports Complex in Norco on Saturday, Nov. 26.

Eagles Soccer Club's Reese Wallace battles with Legends FC, Ariyanna Buggs for the ball during the First Annual Silverlakes College Showcase at Silverlakes Equestrian and Sports Complex in Norco on Saturday, Nov. 26.

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U.S. girls soccer players warm up for their game during the First Annual Silverlakes College Showcase at Silverlakes Equestrian and Sports Complex in Norco on Saturday, Nov. 26.

College coaches watch U.S. girls soccer players during the First Annual Silverlakes College Showcase at Silverlakes Equestrian and Sports Complex in Norco Saturday, Nov. 26.

Inland Empire Surf Soccer Club Head Coach Daniel Graff talks to players before their game Saturday, Nov. 26, at the Silverlakes Equestrian and Sports Complex at Silverlakes Sports Park in Norco.

Far more hotel rooms are being booked, bringing a significant boost to city coffers. But sales taxes, which help pay for basic city services, have increased far slower than they have across Riverside County, records show.

In 2009, Norco and project developer Balboa Management Group estimated Silverlakes could bring $37 million in direct spending during its first year. But many of those goods and services – such as parking fees and wages for Silverlakes workers – are exempt from the 1 percent sales tax collected by the city. That makes it difficult for city officials to determine revenue from the complex.

Norco City Manager Andy Okoro said the city can’t pinpoint Silverlakes’ precise financial impact, but said “there was no way for me to expect Silverlakes would be contributing more to the city than it is today.”

“Anyone who was thinking this was going to be a mega sales tax generator for the city was misunderstanding this thing,” Okoro said.

Silverlakes operators say the complex will continue to grow and has more future economic potential.

PROJECTIONS VS. REALITY

Roger Grody, economic consultant for the city, said the project changed so much since the 2009 report that “we don’t use it to evaluate current performance.” He said it was a “useful study at the time,” but now is outdated and “based on assumptions that may or may not be valid.”

“You’reasking how we assess successes and failures of the project, from my standpoint that’s not what we do here,” Grody said Wednesday. “We don’t keep score like that, not in my office.”

The equestrian and sports complex is north of the Santa Ana River at 5555 Hamner Ave. Norco owns the land, and Balboa Management has the option to lease the property until at least January 2111. The $45,515 per month utilities repayment plan is separate from a $36,000 per month lease Balboa is paying. All payments and interest will go back into the city’s water and sewer funds.

The partnership with Balboa has cost the city in the past. Norco officials agreed to a $500,000 settlement with the IRS after an audit of the city’s use of water and sewer bonds to help finance the complex.

Grody said 850,000 people visited Silverlakes during its first year. He expects the number of visitors to rise as more phases of the park are completed.

In addition to the 24 full-size sports fields open today, five equestrian sand rings and a concessions tent – a 10,000-person concert venue dubbed The Backyard – is expected to open in January, Silverlakes spokeswoman Lelani Kroeker said. The Fieldhouse restaurant is slated to open later in 2017.

All work is expected to be finished by 2020, company officials have said. Those elements, paired with increased notoriety for the city, should help drive business, Grody said.

“We are currently receiving interest from retail and hospitality enterprises that previously never gave Norco a second look,” Grody said. “Silverlakes creates new demand for goods and services.”

ECONOMIC BOOST?

The city has struggled to quantify the economic impact of the project through two studies.

The first was inconclusive. The 15 business owners that responded to a second survey in January said they’d experienced a 10 percent to 15 percent boost in weekend sales, but dozens of others either declined to take the survey or reported gains of less than 5 percent. Some restaurants reported no change.

Reports prepared for the city show the 11 percent hotel tax has generated $359,000 in the first six months of 2016 – nearly 21/2 times more than the same period in 2014.

Norco has seen modest sales tax growth during the first two quarters of 2016 from sources such as restaurants and convenience store sales, records show. The increases were larger in the first half of 2015 – before the park opened.

Betsy Quiroz has worked for 11 years at Pat’s Kitchen, a Sixth Street restaurant about a mile south of Silverlakes. She said business has steadily declined over the past decade as more chain restaurants popped up along Hamner Avenue. She hoped business would rebound as the sports complex became established, but she said that hasn’t been the case.

“If anything, it’s stayed the same, I’d say even a little less business now,” Quiroz said Friday. “Maybe they’re promoting some of the other businesses more. I don’t know what’s causing it.”

At other restaurants, weekend sales have spiked. Charyle Trujillo, a manager at Bob’s Big Boy restaurant on Hamner, said business is up by 11 percent compared to this time last year.

“We’ve seen huge parties, 50 people or more,” said Trujillo. “(Silverlakes) has been good for us. It’s exceeded our expectations. We didn’t think we’d be as busy as we are.”

HOPES FOR FUTURE

Some officials who approved a $6 million loan for the project have trumpeted attendance at the soccer games and horse shows as proof of an economic boon. Nearly every weekend this year, the park has drawn about 20,000 people – slightly less than the population of Horsetown, USA.

A soccer tournament on Thanksgiving weekend drew more than 25,000 to Norco, many from other states. All the town’s hotels were filled, Kroeker said, and many attendants booked rooms in Corona, Eastvale and Ontario.

“We want this to be a world-class destination,” Kroeker said. “We’re starting to attract attention from outside the region, which we hope will continue to elevate the property.”

Mayor Kevin Bash called the project “a major success,” but could not account for the meager increase in sales revenue.

“Our goal wasn’t how much money can be brought in, but mainly to bring in more hotels, restaurants – more destination-type places,” he said.